8/11/2015

PURPLE PIG - Stars:
I found this place on yelp! and suggested it for dinner because of the reviews. One friend had been here and said, "great place!".  After my experience, I concur - and I plan to come again.
We arrived about 6:30pm on a Friday evening and felt the good energy and vibe. Was told it would be a 90 minute wait... then quickly told they had immediate seating for four in the corner of the terrace. Of course we took it. Our table was next to the busy doorway to the kitchen, but wasn't bad at all. Sure beat a long wait - and we got smiles and nods from the staff coming and going all evening. The staff accommodated our request to rotate the large fan so it wasn't blowing directly on us.
Our server was great, answering questions about the menu and suggesting items. We were told two items per person was about the right amount to order -- we would have been satisfied with 7 small plates between 4 of us, but 8 was a bonus and nothing went to waste. The dishes were spaced out and arrived at perfect intervals so each item could be properly enjoyed.
The bacon dish was so awesome we ordered a second. If you don't have an aversion to meat or pork, I highly recommend it! The chicken skewer with cucumber dill yogurt was great, as was the pork shoulder with mashed potatoes.
My only "complaint" is that Sangria is not offered by the pitcher. That would have been a nice touch for our party of four.
THE BOTTOM LINE: For the downtown tourist area, this is a great spot and not over-priced. Make a reservation or factor in some wait time during busy dinner hours, but don't let a long wait cause you to miss out on this tapas experience.

8/11/2015

The Purple Pig is a great example of exceptional cuisine in Chicago.  It is almost always packed as it is right on Michigan Avenue and has great seating both inside, at the bar, and outside with both shade and open sun.  

There were a variety of different groups and people there although both the atmosphere, crowd, and prices incline me to not recommend bringing children there.  

Very few details are overlooked here including the attention to customers.  I believe the manger was working behind the bar and constantly looking at everyone and their dishes and checking on how they were liking it and if they needed anything.  Not in an overbearing way, it was quite busy and he was being diligent.

Note for vegetarians, this really isn't the best place, however the vegetarian options they do offer are quite exceptional.  I ordered off the "Smears" section of the menu which are served with toast.  I chose the eggplant caponata with goat cheese.  This dish had a ton of amazing surprises in the choice of ingredients and it was really delicious.  

My friend ordered the prosciutto stuffed calamari with ink sauce (although I can't seem to find it on the menu right now...)  The sauce was phenomenal and she enjoyed the texture and taste of the seafood.

Price is a bit steep but for Michigan Avenue it is understandable especially when you take into account the location and the seating options.

In essence, the chef is really diving into the beauty and flavorings of these dishes and creating a profound and haute menu in a city that is defined by hotdog recipes.  Keep up the great cooking!

8/10/2015

We got lucky - it was raining which kept people away so we arrived at 5:30 p.m. and sat right down on the enclosed patio.

We ordered the crispy pig ear salad (amazingly light and flavorful), fried olives which were a bit too salty, eggplant caponata (very tasty with raisins and pine nurs) with grilled bread (5 honking large pieces) and goat cheese and the duo of pork belly and pork loin.

We also ordered a Sicilian wine - a Passopisciaro which we had enjoyed in Sicily.

We look forward to returning.

8/5/2015

Disappointing. The Purple Pig has been on my list of places to go in Chicago and every dish that came out (except the dessert) was lacking.

My roommates and I were told there would only be a 45 minute wait. We were finally seated after about 1.5 hours of waiting. The hostess told us they would call our cell phone once our table was ready. After 45 minutes, we went to check on our seating and they had marked us as seated although we never received the call.

We were finally seated, and I ordered the beets (picture below with goat cheese and pistachio) and the endives (terrible to say the least). I tried to save the order with a greek yogurt smear. This had a unique and better flavor, but not sure if it was really worth it.

Now the dessert options here are fantastic. We got the Sicilian iris, Loukoumades, and Greek cheesecake. I LOVED the Sicilian Iris.. I mean how could you not loved a filled donut? They slightly redeemed themselves with the dessert, but overall I will not be returning to this restaurant.

Wanted to note that my two roommates ate the meat dishes and they were mixed on their review. They ordered the bone marrow (3 stars), pig ear (3 stars), pork shoulder with mashed potatoes (5 stars) and the razor clams (4 stars).

They're doing something right because the wait is always long. Just not right for me.

• 

  Beets with goat cheese

  Beets with goat cheese

8/10/2015

My favourite tapas resto in Chicago! This place is always poppin with people. I went here on a Friday night and they sat my boyfriend and I immediately despite it was busy. The service was fast! We ordered the pigs ear with crispy kale, the broccoli with breadcrumbs, their amazing bone Marrow,  and they pork shoulder in mash potatoes milk.

Everything exceeded my expectations! The broccoli was crisp and the parmeasean breadcrumbs complemented the sauce. The bone Marrow was my fave!!! So buttery and the salad that was on top was the best, it really cut the fatty after taste.
The pork shoulder was sooo tender it just melted in my mouth. And last but not least the pigs ear and Krispy kale with egg on top was out of this world!!! That's def. a must try!

This place has been recommended to me by 4 different people and they ratings were really high. If you ever get the chance to visit purple pig then you will not be dissapointed! And remember this is a TAPAS resto, something to share with a glass of wine.

7/18/2015

I FINALLY made it and I did not have a wait. I know. I get it. I was just as shocked as you probably are right now. The potential waiting time has discouraged me time after time. Because while I heard nothing but great things, I struggled to bring myself to make the trek and potentially wait to eat in a city with good restaurants every 40 feet. But I packed my patience and did not need it.

The tell all sign of a great meal is a uncomfortably full belly. We came. We ate and left full enough to pop. Two people, five items  and a doggie bag later, we were glad we ventured over.

We ordered the broccoli dish, the roasted beets with goat cheese, fried manchego, pork shoulder and the chicken kebab thighs. Loved it all.  It was very filling. The plates are small plates intended for sharing but 2-3 per person is plenty. Anything more is going to be left behind or taken to go. There's little chance you can eat much more than that. Trust me, I tried. It's practically impossible.

I would definitely return if downtown and would be inclined to order all of the same items with the exception of the pork shoulder and beets. They were good but both are items you could order at many other establishments with trendy selections.

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  Broccoli dish

  Broccoli dish

7/17/2015

Excellent service...the place was packed and they went out of the way to accommodate our party of 10 on a Saturday night!

Since the wait was 2 hours, we ordered drinks and appetizers out front by a spectacular and cute waiter who was insanely chill despite the tornado of customers around him. We consumed our drinks and apps on a bartop counter in the back before being seated to a real table. I got the 3 Amigos drink ( with pork and rosemary in it!) which was delicious and tasted like caramel sherry. For food I ordered the panini with bacon jam and green tomato jam, which was a super satisfying combo of savory and sweet flavors. I finished off with a lemon cotta dessert which was very creamy and fruit forward...super balanced!
My only issue was that they had issues splitting the check 4 ways and our table waitress seemed pretty sour, but it was late on a Sat night by the time we got seated.

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  Pigs ears with egg and kale

  Pigs ears with egg and kale
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  Panini with bacon jam

  Panini with bacon jam
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  3 Amigos with pork and sherry!

  3 Amigos with pork and sherry!
• See all photos from Angelique A. for The Purple Pig

8/8/2015

Two Words: Razor Clams!

I have been dreaming of them ever since vacationing in Spain some years ago. These clams were fantastic (ok they might have been a touch overcooked) and brought me back to Barcelona.

We ordered a number of other signature dishes, including fried pig's ears, pork neck bone gravy with ricotta, milk braised pork shoulder, and a few others. Everything had great flavors but this food was very rich and heavy - best to start with just two and build from there. I was a little disappointed by the pig's ears. I enjoyed cured pig's ears when I was little. Unfortunately this dish managed to completely remove any taste of "pig" imo. All I tasted were fried crumbs. They could have been fried shoelaces for all I know.

I loved both their red and white sangrias. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive. All in all, we had a wonderful meal in a nice, relaxed atmosphere to start our weekend evening, thanks to the Purple Pig.

7/12/2015

Came on a Sunday for an early dinner.  No wait.  Seated outside (but both were available).  Ordered sharing style.  

Broccoli.  Nice acidity & seasoned very well!
Burrata.  An innovative foam land crispy.  Very Tasty & light!  
Cauliflower.  Green & purple.  Flavorful.  
Shimp Saganaki.  Red sauce.  Tasty but the least innovative item of all we ordered.  Served w toast.  
Beets w whipped goat cheese. Creamy bite sized perfection.  
Pork shoulder.  Very tender.  Served on creamy mashed potatoes.  Flavor is "fat boy good" (per the hubs).  
Nutella Crepe. Get it.  Perfect for two

For us, this place is eye to eye with Girl & the goat.  
American small plates.  Fresh.  Flavorful.  Innovative.  Casual.  Friendly & attentive service.  

Truly loved everything we ate.  BUT did not love the Bloody Mary.  Couldn't get past the first 2 sips.  They responded properly and inquired why to improve their product....then got me another drink. That's a plus :)

Hubs said the men's room is nothing special.  But that's it's private and that's good.  

No reservations so gotta be strategic with your timing or be ready to wait!

• 

  Shrimp Saganaki

  Shrimp Saganaki

7/5/2015

Great food, especially if you can avoid the wait

// LOCATION // Conveniently located at the beginning of Magnificant Mile

// WAIT // None at 2 pm on a weekday. Sit on the patio to try to avoid a longer wait

// FOOD // Food is meant to be shared and is tapas style
    + Octopus: Fresh and super tender! Great flavor and was my fave dish
    + Pig ear: Topped with egg because everything is better with an egg. Savory and crunchy

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  Pig ear

  Pig ear
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  Octopus

  Octopus
• 

8/2/2015

The Purple Pig is a great place to go with a ton of people so you can share all of the Mediterranean styled tapas/small plates. I went with my husband today and wish we had a few extra mouths with us so we could order the whole menu. Got the roasted beets with cheese, bone marrow, grilled octopus and the pig ears and for dessert, salted caramel soft serve.

Everything we are was delic! The servers do pace your courses out and don't submit your orders to the kitchen till you're ready or they think your ready. This was a slight problem since we had to wait 40 minutes between courses 2 and 3. I would still go back but be aware that when it gets busy, servers may forget to pop your orders in on a timely manner.

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  Salted caramel soft serve

  Salted caramel soft serve
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  Bone marrow

  Bone marrow
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  Pig ears

  Pig ears
• See all photos from Kelly Y. for The Purple Pig

7/12/2015

I was somewhat torn between giving The Purple Pig four versus five stars, but I decided to round up in the end.

When we arrived at 8PM on a Friday night, we were told the wait would be 1.5 hours. Fortunately, they have this system where you put your cellphone number down and they call you when your table is ready.

We were lucky and the wait turned out to be only 50 minutes! We explored a nearby candy store while we were waiting.

The restaurant is actually somewhat small considering its popularity, although they do have a few outdoor tables as well. The interior is on the darker side, but is fairly modern with some of the lanterns covered with the restaurant's menu. It also gets pretty noisy indoors.

Service was not bad during our visit. Our waiter was attentive enough, although different people sometimes brought out our dishes or refilled our water.

As for the food, it's tapas style and the portion sizes of various plates can vary considerably. We ended up sharing six dishes between the three of us. All of them were pretty darn delicious, and attention was paid to presentation as well. See all of my photos for details!

It IS a little pricey, but you are definitely paying for quality food that is carefully executed. I definitely think it's a great restaurant to come to celebrate a special occasion!

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  Milk-braised pork shoulder.

  Milk-braised pork shoulder.
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  Morcilla sausage with lobster tail.

  Morcilla sausage with lobster tail.
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  Duck rillete.

  Duck rillete.
• See all photos from Jeff Y. for The Purple Pig

7/8/2015

I have looked forward to dining at the Purple Pig since I moved to Chicago a year ago. Two days ago, I finally had the chance to go with my roommates and we were sorrily disappointed. The food was just okay, leaving us unsatisfied and without a desire to return.

With only a 45 minute wait, we were ecstatic that our spontaneous trip to PP was actually happening. My vegetarian roommate ordered the beets (which came with a creamy goat cheese and cruncy pistachio complement) and the endives (our waiter highly recommended this). She had such a look of displeasure after tasting the endives. The robiola tasted terrible and she couldn't believe she had paid $11 for this dish. Because the endives were such a failure, she wanted to redeem her experience at PP by ordering the greek yogurt smear. This was pretty good and a unique taste. Was it worth $12? Questionable...

I ordered the classics: bone marrow and pig ear. The flavors of the pig ear were good, but in the end, I felt like I was just eating unidentified crunchy fried bits. There was also too much cherry pepper for my liking. I've only had bone marrow one other time, but something was off about the gelatinous texture of the bone marrow here. I wanted to love it, but I just felt greasy and discontented. My other roommate ordered the pork shoulder with mashed potatoes and the razor clams and loved them both! Glad at least one of us enjoyed their meal.

Three hungry girls went in and came out of the dinner portion still craving soooo we ordered three desserts: the Sicilian Iris, the Loukoumades, and the greek cheesecake. My personal favorite was the cheesecake.. so creamy and flavorful! My roommates loved the sicilian iris, a chocolate-filled brioche, which was absolutely sinful!

Overall service was fine. We went in checking our our table and they had crossed our name off the list because apparently they had called and received no answer. I guess there was service issues, but thankfully, we still seated shortly. Our server didn't check in too often, but all in all, the Purple Pig didn't live up to our high, high expectations. Don't think we will come back soon, but obviously there are many fans of the place so good for them!

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  Loukoumades - can't go wrong with these

  Loukoumades - can't go wrong with these
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  Sicilian Iris, my goodness, a chocolate filled fried beignet!

  Sicilian Iris, my goodness, a chocolate filled fried beignet!
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  Amazing Greek cheesecake! Hands down would get this again!

  Amazing Greek cheesecake! Hands down would get this again!
• See all photos from Sallyann Z. for The Purple Pig

6/14/2015

WOW, this place blew me away. Got seated right away on a Tuesday afternoon, and the servers were very friendly and great at explaining the menu.

My bf and I ordered the crispy pig ears, bone marrow, and octopus. The crispy pig ears were my favorite. They were super crispy, mixed with crispy kale and an egg on top. The pickled peppers added a great kick to the dish. The octopus was my second favorite. It was tender and not chewy at all. The salsa verde was a great sauce with it as well as the fingerling potatoes. The bone marrow came with some grilled bread, and was just okay to me. For dessert, we got the sicilian iris, which was recommended by our server. It's like a big donut stuffed with chocolate and ricotta.

We were pretty full, but all the items on the menu sounded amazing! I wish we came with more people because this spot is great for sharing.

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  Bone marrow smear

  Bone marrow smear
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  Crispy pig ears

  Crispy pig ears
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  Inside th sicilian iris

  Inside th sicilian iris

6/14/2015 Updated review

When is it ever an off-peak time to dine at the Purple Pig?  We were quoted a 30-40 min wait time at 1pm on a summer Friday.  What better way to rev up an appetite than to run back to PP from Do-Rite Donuts after receiving a phone call that your table is ready (not that we had any experience with that or anything)?

Choose your dishes carefully.  I found the offerings to be hit or miss on this latest visit.  We didn't order the bone marrow, but I was eyeing our neighbors' dish, and it looked delicious.

Hits: the jowl with duck egg, foie gras and pork tenderloin pate

Misses: Greek cornbread (ordinary; plus no piggy!), housemade meatballs (they were fine, but we were expecting more elevated flavors)

Huge miss: pork blade steak.  It'll look like a bargain quantity-wise for $17, but that is one low grade cut of meat.  It was chewy and rubbery, and we wished we had gotten the milk braised pork shoulder instead.

Also be prepared for communal seating!

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  Foie gras and pork tenderloin

  Foie gras and pork tenderloin
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  Greek cornbread

  Greek cornbread
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  Meatballs

  Meatballs
• See all photos from Tricia D. for The Purple Pig

7/26/2015

Just in Chicago for the weekend and have been trying to eat at this place every day since we got here. Seems like Sunday morning/brunch time is prime as there was no wait. Woot woot! Cute and trendy atmosphere is good for a casual meal w a friend or date:)

Things we ordered:
- broccoli - not impressed and too salty
- bone marrow - most people like it and it was good...but so oily i didn't feel very great eating it
- pig ear - really good
- pork shoulder with mashed potato - AMAZING and the reason why i gave this place 4 instead of 3 stars

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  Bone marrow

  Bone marrow
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  Not impressed with this broccoli

  Not impressed with this broccoli
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  Pig ear..got too excited and broke the egg before the photo

  Pig ear..got too excited and broke the egg before the photo
• See all photos from Cheri K. for The Purple Pig

8/12/2015

I am going back to this place again and again and again! Had the bone marrow, morcilla with lobster and my friend had the pork shoulder. Outstanding! Wait is long so go early or try Lunch instead of Dinner. Centrally located in the heart of Magnificent Mile's shoppin district, it is easily the best resto to hit up while shopping in the Chicago.

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  Bone marrow

  Bone marrow
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  Pork shoulder

  Pork shoulder
• See all photos from liliana c. for The Purple Pig

6/9/2015

Despite the name, this place is also a good choice for vegetarians. We had six courses, and aside from a little bacon in one of them, there was no pig or other meat involved. The highlights were the peas (because of the fresh mint mixed in) and the leeks.

There is a great selection of both pasteurized and raw milk cheeses, which made a wonderful dessert plate for two.

For me, though, the reason to go is the remarkable wine list, with hundreds of selections, all from countries bordering the Mediterranean. Nearly every selection is available by the glass, demi, half or full bottle, and they'll even open a bottle of any of the wines priced under $50 (which is nearly all of them) and pour you just half. So it's a great place to explore varieties and appellations you've never heard of.

One word of warning: the atmosphere is vibrant (read that as LOUD) to say the least, so it's not a place for intimate conversation. It's somewhat better on the patio, but even there it's pretty boisterous.

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  Patio

  Patio

7/20/2015

The Purple Pig is a tapas style bistro located in the heart of down town Chicago.  If you're patient enough to brave Michigan Avenue and venture to a restaurant that doesn't take reservations, you'll be rewarded with a tapas experience with some creative dishes.

My Overall Rating - 3 Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)

Atmosphere - Once you head up the steps off Michigan Avenue, you'll find a metal gate with the sign for The Purple Pig.  A few notes - it's busy.  If you don't want to wait try a late or early lunch on a weekday.  There is an enclosed patio that adds to the restaurant space.  Inside you'll find lots of high tables, but again tight spaces.  The outdoor patio (where we sat) is fully enclosed but you do still feel like you're outside.  It was a beautiful day in Chicago so I'm not sure if it's fully climate controlled during hot/cold days.   1/2 Stars.

Service - Great!  This is a tapas (small plates) restaurants for adults, but we like to take our kids out to explore food with us and our serve was quick to point out dishes that were kid friendly.  She was also great with explaining the menu and concept, and answered any and all our questions.  She was really fantastic, even going an extra mile to get pens for the kids even when not requested.  But the best part was she carefully explained the popular dishes so that we could make our decisions.  1 Star.

Food - The good thing about a tapas restaurant is that you get to order and try many things.  The bad thing is this can add up and you may not like everything.  We experienced this at The Purple Pig, but most dishes were very creative & delicious.  I'll start with the bone marrow - this rich, indulgent, and delicious dish was served with nice herbs (parsley or cilantro) and toasted bread.  This help cut the marrow quite a bit, but it was easily everyone's (including the kids) favorite dish.  The other stand out was the fried pig ears.  This was served on top of fried kale and topped with an egg.  Believe it or not, it was the kale that made this dish so tasty.  Our kids split the fried bologna sandwich (neither liked it).  We order everything from razor clams (good), pulled pork (ok), meat balls (ok), and even the cured meat/cheese plate (yum).  Bottom line - there are some outstanding items, but you'll find yourself finding it hard to choose and end up ordering as much as you can like we did.  1 Star.

Will I Return? - Maybe.  The menu is outstanding, you just have to make sure you plan out your meal.  So many things are enticing it's hard to settle on one thing.  It's best to bring a large group of friends to share the plates and bill.  Avoid going solo for sure.   1/2 Star.

My Yelp Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star - Atmosphere - Is it a cool dive?  Perhaps an upscale place?  No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I'll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star - Service - You can have a great meal with bad service.  But that's also what can make a five star joint drop to four.  It's important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars - Food - I'll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out.  Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it's really all about the food.
1 Star - Will I come back? - If I know for a fact I'll return, I'll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.

Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience.  I will sum them up to provide my final Yelp score.

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  Bone marrow

  Bone marrow
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  Fried pig ears + kale

  Fried pig ears + kale

7/21/2015

Ain't gonna slog through 3,000+ reviews to make sure I don't repeat anything. I'll just say to my friends who are in the area that the PP should probably merit inclusion on your itinerary if you're in Chicago for more than three days. The prices are reasonable and the food is good, as long as you don't mind waiting a bit for a communal table.

We enjoyed the burrata Pugliese, the Greek cornbread with feta soaked in honey, pillows of fried cheese and an artfully-arranged rabbit roulade. I also got to try a Rhône varietal I hadn't tried before, the Picpoul blanc.

7/28/2015

On a recent visit to Chicago, my bf and I joined my cousin and his wife for dinner at The Purple Pig, where we waited two hours for a table.  

Well, it was worth the wait!

I could barely keep my face out of the salt-roasted beets with whipped goat cheese and pistachio vinaigrette at The Purple Pig. Ugh, they were awesome. And so was the cheese plate we ordered!

In total, no lie I think we split 17 different small plates, and each one was more unique, intricate, and exciting than the next. One of my favorite dishes we ordered was the eggplant caponata with goat cheese. The cool, sweet, almost chili-like eggplant dip spread atop the goat cheese-smeared pieces of toast was absolutely breathtaking.

Dining at The Purple Pig was a truly exciting culinary experience!

5/28/2015

Just landed and straight to my hotel I go.

Oh, how convenient was this restaurant? The restaurant was right across the street from my hotel. Score!

My favorites of the night:

- Pig's Ear with Crispy Kale, Pickled Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg.

- Lobster and blood sausage

- Fried Manchego Cheese

I was a little disappointed about the dessert. Was actually looking forward to it, but I'm okay with that.

Overall, I love the ambiance, the food, and definitely the friendly staffs.

I hope you give this place a try. Cheers!

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  Pig's Ear

  Pig's Ear
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  Lobster and blood sausage

  Lobster and blood sausage
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  Fried Manchego Cheese

  Fried Manchego Cheese
• See all photos from Elaine N. for The Purple Pig

7/24/2015

When you walk closer to The Purple Pig, the aroma already starts to bring up your taste bud's expectation. Looking at over 3300 reviews on Yelp, you know how popular this establishment is. Since they don't take reservations, a wait of an hour during meal time should be planned. Knowing that, I walked into the restaurant at 3pm and was able to sit at their communal table without any wait. The communal table is a perfect place to sit if you dine alone, as you can pretend to be part of a big family. And I was lucky enough to strike a conversation with a local couple next to me, definitely a plus to the dining experience. The ambiance and decor of the restaurant is very nice, however the music is kind of loud if that concerns you.

The Purple Pig serves Mediterranean cuisine that is designed for sharing. Since I was just by myself, the waitress Nikki recommended I could try 2 or 3 dishes. Everything on the menu looks very interesting and tempting, I really could not make up my mind. Nikki was nice enough to let me keep the menu and order just one by one.

Well, I admit that I did some homework before coming here and knew for sure which one I want to try, that is, Squid Stuffed with Prosciutto. The dish came in with three pieces of squids as you can see in the picture. Boy, that was the BEST squid I have ever tasted in any restaurant. The tenderness of the squid is perfect, so that it is not chewy as usually it is. The flavor of charmoula  sauce blends impeccably with the squid. I am not too crazy about the stuffed prosciutto as I still love prosciutto in its original form. It is the texture rather the meat that I am too keen about. But this dish definitely is a reorder, and lives up to the restaurant's reputation.

While enjoying the squid, I was checking on the menu too and my eyes settled on pig ears. This was the first time I ordered pig ears in a non-Chinese restaurant. The highlight of this dish in my opinion was the fried egg sitting on the top. Both pig ears and kale were fried to perfection with little breading. I like the fried kale even more in this dish as it was more flavorful. For some reason, I still like our own Chinese way of preparing the pig ears. The fried ones are nice to chew, however, it lost its original texture after being deep fried. Having to finish the entire bowl does not help either.

At this point, I was a bit torn whether to order the third dish or not. My mind told me to do so while my stomach was begging for a stop. After much debating and discussing with Nikki, I landed on the Charred Cauliflower. This turned out to be another spectacular dish that lands on my reorder list. The theme of this dish is crunchy. The cauliflower was grilled into a perfectly crunchy texture with vinaigrette nicely sprinkled and flavored.  So, the sourness, the crunchiness paired so well that I finished this before I realized myself.

All in all, I found the ingredients are all very interesting and the combination of spices are most intriguing. I would for sue come back here next time I am in town, preferably with three people in the group next time, and I already know what I am going to order.

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  Charred Cauliflower

  Charred Cauliflower
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  Pig's Ear with Crispy Kale

  Pig's Ear with Crispy Kale
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  Squid Stuffed with Prosciutto

  Squid Stuffed with Prosciutto

7/23/2015

Come see Lee at the bar, and let Chad the manager know how blow away you are!
Does that sound presumptuous? Well freaking tell me I'm wrong after eating in this unique place or out on its patio which has a view of some great Chicago architecture.  That is if you can look up from your sumptuous bone marrow or charred cauliflower. And cocktails cocktails cocktails! Let Lee set you straight, he's a good guy with more than his share of charm and cocktail knowledge.
My only regret is I found out about the place on my last night in town. Otherwise I'd have been a regular.
No joke, I want to sell my house and move in here. Holy $h!t what a gem. God bless Chicago and God bless The PURPLE Pig!

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  Bone marrow from a place better than heaven.

  Bone marrow from a place better than heaven.

7/28/2015

One of my favorite places in Chicago! The perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine, some tapas, and a good conversation. It can get a little loud, but it just adds to the ambiance. It was located across the street from my hotel and I was there at least 5 times (with different people) during my trip.

Favorites:
Sicilian Iris- OMG! AMAZING! You have to try this. It was so delicious!
Salt-Roasted Beets, Whipped Goat Cheese & Pistachio Vinaigrette- A great combination to snack on with some of the heavier dishes.
Broccoli with Roasted Garlic & Anchovy Vinaigrette- So yummy!
JLT- Pork jowl is one of my favorite cuts, so this dish hit the spot.

Remember... SAVE ROOM FOR THE SICILIAN IRIS!

It can get crowded, but I never had to wait too long. It's definitely worth it!

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  YUMMMMMM! The Sicilian Iris!

  YUMMMMMM! The Sicilian Iris!

7/20/2015

Fun, small plate, great for sharing restaurant with long, communal tables.  Just when you think you can't stomach another place like this in Chicago, here it is and everyone loves it.  All the dishes were well prepared, especially the roasted cauliflower and the squid stuffed with prosciutto.  

Restaurant plays it really safe with the dishes -- meaning every dish sounds more adventurous than it really is.  It caters well to tourists - there is an ingredient glossary hanging over each table.  

Most disappointing dish was the pigs ears.  The ears were so thinly sliced it might as well been paper thin bacon.  A bit of a gimmick.  If you're gonna serve pigs ears, then serve pigs ears.

8/11/2015

Super impressed by the food, cocktails, and service. I had stuffed squid, poached lobster with blood sausage, turkey leg confit, and red sangria. Very well season, although I feel like it's a little too salty but I'm not gonna deduct a star just for that because everything else was spotless.

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  Turkey leg confit with Napa lettuce

  Turkey leg confit with Napa lettuce
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  Poached lobster with blood sausage (my fav)

  Poached lobster with blood sausage (my fav)
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  Stuffed squid

  Stuffed squid

5/14/2015

Honest review: saw this on check please and everybody was talking about this and seeing that the wait is 2 hours i thought this was gonna be amaizing

Anti pasta:foie gras and pork tenderloin it comes with bread and is like a spread it was really delicious it came with bacon and fried capers that were really delicous. The problem was theres this really tart cherry sauce that tastes like medicine exactly like robitussin that sauce ruined the dish it was so off putting if u get the dish avoid the red sauce

Smears: Roasted bone marrow omg this is the most bone marrow on a bone i have ever seen there was so much like u can literly scoop up the marrow with a normal spoon not that little one. It comes with a parsley salad with capers and a little onion. The salad did cut through the richness but isnt really a salad because its parsley. There was no wow factor to this dish like all the times i had bone marrow it had some type of bacon jam that made the dish over the top for example the best bone marrow i ever had was at au cheval it came with a beef cheek jam which was out of this world. I liked the addition of the salad though

Fried items: fried pig ears this was amaizing make sure u break the yolk and u mix everything together really well. The pigs ear were supper crispy not alot of cartalidge like i thought it was gonna be it was like really crispy onion rings then the fried kale was to die for i never liked kale before but it was so good tasted like brocoli and theres chilis in the bottom so the spicyness really made the dish a knockout it was a little salt though

A la plancha: turkey leg confit omg this was the best dish of the night it was so fucking good the skin was so cripsy it reminded me of carnitas. It was supper tender not dry at all or greasy. Then there was a lot of meat the flavour of the meat was to die for. Then the salad that went along with the dish was so good i never had a salad this good ever it went so well with the turkey really made the dish

Whole salt roasted pork tenderloin: this takes a while to come to the table so be warned about that if ur really hungry. This was the most tenderest pork i have ever had in my life literly i didnt need a knife at all it was cooked perfectly. The crackers on the side i didnt really like they were really dry and didnt taste that good. The two sauces the horshradish one i didnt taste any horshradish just tasted like normal creme. The pepper sauce was tart so it cut through the richness of the pork. The dish was good but i wouldnt order again wasnt great

Desserts: nutella crepe the banana ice cream that came with this dish was so delicous was not overturned perfect texture not to sweet either. The nuts on this dish were perfect supper crunchy. The crepe was perfect not supper eggy and not to much flower not supper thing or thick either. The filling was good there was nutella. The problem was theres this really tart cherry sauce that tastes like medicine exactly like robitussin that sauce ruined the dish it was so off putting if u get the dish avoid the red sauce

Sicilian iris: the texture of this dessert was heavenly supper crispy like picture like an upscale funnel cake. The inside though wasnt my favorite just was nothing special i took out the filling and just at the crispy parts of the dessert

Ambiance: really hipster so really trendy not really nice and elegant kind of ugly to be honest its really tiny to like barely any space to walk and the bathrooms are both girl and guys so its awkward

Service: i did not like our waiter at all he was really like like hi bye like he didnt explain anything at all he gave horrible recommendations if any at all he was no where to be found ever he would disappear for like 30 minutes the bus boy was amaizing i wish he was our waiter was supper nice and gave us our bone marrow bones to go for my dog he was so sweet

Honestly i wouldnt go back i only liked two things it wasnt really worth it and wasnt really authentic tapas like just because everything has capers doesnt make it Mediterranean i dont think its worth the crazy wait either wish i went somewhere else

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  Current menu

  Current menu
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  Current menu

  Current menu
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  Current dessert menu

  Current dessert menu
• See all photos from Michelangelo V. for The Purple Pig

7/19/2015

Purple Pig doesn't take reservations but we were lucky to get a table during lunch time without waiting. We started off with some beers and cocktails. We ordered about ten different dishes. My favorite dishes: pig's ear, sformato (pork brain), and roasted bone marrow.

Fried pigs ear served with kale, pickled cherry peppers, and fried egg. Crispy and full of flavor. I wasn't too sure what the sformato dish was and found out that it was pork brain. I was a bit hesitant at first but decided to try it anyways. Sformato spread on the bread was AMAZING! No regrets and probably one of the best decisions that I made in my life! While everyone was enjoying the foie gras I was secretly inhaling the sformato. There were a few dishes that weren't spectacular and can be skipped: osso bucco and wagyu sirloin tips. Both dishes were marinated in sauce since it was lacking flavor. Typical dishes and nothing to die for.

All our dishes came fairly quick with the exception of the sirloin tips. We talked to our waiter and came back a few minutes and apologized and told us that the chef probably forgot about it. He was friendly and continued to take care of us as we continued to order drinks.

When the bill came we realized that our waiter comped half of our drinks which saved us about $100. Very unexpected but definitely appreciate the great service. Overall great experience here and will definitely be returning for the sformato!

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  Roasted Bone Marrow

  Roasted Bone Marrow
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  Pig's Ear

  Pig's Ear
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  Sformato

  Sformato

5/14/2015

I had bookmarked Purple Pig to try on my visit to Chicago. I'd read all about the ridiculous waits and no reservation policy but fortunately our hotel, The James, was merely a few blocks away. We put our name in(1.5 hr wait at 6pm on a Saturday) and went back to the hotel to relax and wait it out. We received a call promptly at 7:30 to let us know our table was ready.

This hot spot was as expected -- dark, bustling and loud. I wouldn't recommend it for a date. We were seated at the communal high top table, sandwiched snugly. We decided on just four dishes to share since the ones we wanted to try seemed quite heavy --- bone marrow, octopus, pork shoulder and seafood saganaki.

The bone marrow came out first and was one of the best and largest bone marrow dishes I've ever had. The accompanying bread was toasted just right -- with a smear of fatty marrow and a heap of salad -- the combination of textures and taste going on made for the perfect bite. The octopus was also quite good. The tentacles were as large as sausage links, tender and juicy. It was a tad salty however, just as the remaining dishes would be. The pork shoulder was as tender as I expected but overly salty, esp. with the gravy. We couldn't finish it. Same with the seafood saganaki, which was also nothing special. I found myself needing to down a glass of tap to counter the saltiness. Ah well.

Decent meal.  The bone marrow was definitely the highlight. Was it an off night? Maybe my expectations were too high? Probably. Unfortunately, I won't be back in town anytime soon to give Purple Pig a second chance.

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  Octopus

  Octopus
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  Pork shoulder

  Pork shoulder
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  Bone marrow

  Bone marrow

5/16/2015

The Purple Pig is an awesome break from shopping the Magnificent Mile.  Advertised as  small plates, the portions were actually quite sizable.

My favorite by far and the motivation for my visit was the bone marrow.  It was served from the bone, seasoned well, and rendered to a congealed consistency that spread nicely on the crusty bread.  The herb salad was dressed heavily enough that it rested safely on the spread marrow.  A pinch of Sicilian sea salt seals the deal.  This would be a sizeable appetizer for three, decadent meal for me.

The stuffed squid was just that.  Tasty pastrami and bread crumbs crammed into a whole squid, it was covered with and laid on a couple of nice sauces.  One appeared to be ink, and one was a little brighter.  Both were awesome.  

Draft menu was mostly European.  We found that Estrella Damm, a pilsner from Barcelona, paired nicely with both entrees.

Service was professional and not at all put off by our light meal.

8/10/2015

Loved the bustling atmosphere and fun menu! Definitely artisan foods, but they also have foods that are more approachable if you are not into that. We ordered a selection of 3 cheeses based on the review of the waitress. Each portion was pretty hearty- I was expecting a smaller piece. We also got a meat board with a selection of 6 meats. All very good. Tons of food for 2 people at lunch, we left stuffed of cheese and meats! Really large wine selection.

We arrived at 1 and sat at 1:10 on a Monday in August. Loved that they call your cell when your table is ready.

7/25/2015

I'm so hooked on the pigs ear and kale salad AND the bone marrow salad. Both are salads so I hope it counts for something. Oh - and a glass of Picpoul Pinet is also on the line up!

It's always busy but since I'm doing the city solo I've snagged at seat at the bar. That's always a good bet. I need to come here with more folks tho...would love to do the food family style.

• 

  The menu.

  The menu.

8/10/2015

Loved, loved loved the purple pig. Would normally give 4 stars (I save 5 for the best food I've ever had), but the service at the bar pushed it over the top!  If gluten sensitive talk to your waiter/bartender about it. Not everything is listed. Had the pork shoulder. It came with flour based gravy, but they took care of it with an amazing attitude.
Food was fantastic! Beet salad with whipped goat cheese... Yeah, I at it all by myself...,

7/10/2015

Purple Pig Pig Purple Piggy Purple Purply Pig Pig Pig

Okay. Enough with that. This place is amazing and definitely worth the wait: they don't take reservations. Plus, you can shop around Michigan Avenue while you wait for them to call you when your table is ready. My friends and I were in Topshop when they called, so we made our way back.

We decided to order and share several dishes such as the razor clams, pork shoulder with mashed potatoes, chicken thigh kabobs with smashed potatoes and tzatziki, and fried petit basque cheese with membrillo.

The chicken kabobs were perfectly cooked and paired well with the potatoes and tzatziki. The fried cheese were like a nice take on mozzarella sticks. The pork shoulder was a bit on the salty side, but still very well cooked and. The mashed potatoes were so smooth and creamy. The razor clams were a bit acidic and didn't come with much. I'd say this was the least successful dish of the night.

The bill came out to be around $20 per person, but I can't say we were all incredibly full afterwards. Definitely stop by sometime to taste out the creative and flavorful dishes.

7/7/2015

This place is definitely worth the wait. It was one of the top experiences in my trip to Chicago. The place was crowded, but for good reason. The food was excellent, as well as our server and bussers. At one point they kept insisting to change out our plates (but we didn't mind), but they were so insistent that we finally gave in hah! Any foodie would enjoy this place.

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• 
• 
• See all photos from Lisa U. for The Purple Pig

8/11/2015

I really wanted to LOVE this place because its so hyped up by everyone, but it's just okay... I mean it's good, but nothing really blew my mind. It's also a bit too salty for me, and I felt this way for like every single dish that I ordered here. My boyfriend and I ordered the pig ear with crispy kale, octopus, milk braised pork shoulder smothered in mashed potatoes & gravy, and chorizo stuffed olives. Our favorite was the pig ear with crispy kale. It comes with an egg on top and you just mix everything up and eat it. As seafood lovers, we ordered the grilled octopus with green beans and potatoes in a salsa verde type of sauce, but it didn't stand out at all :( The food was just overall okay--not awesome, but not horrible. The ambiance was cute though; I would definitely come here for some wine and appetizers with friends if I was local.

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  Pig ear w/ crispy kale, octopus, braised pork shoulder in mashed potatoes&gravy, and chorizo stuffed olives.

  Pig ear w/ crispy kale, octopus, braised pork shoulder in mashed potatoes&gravy, and chorizo stuffed olives.

7/16/2015

I wanted to try this restaurant two years ago when I visited Chicago, but there was a two hour wait and I was starving. So finally I got to try it last week during my trip in Chicago.

I went with a friend that I haven't seen for a long time. We arrived around 12:30pm on a Friday and was told it would be a 45min wait. We sat outside for only about 20 min until our seats were available. We started with some moscato. Our waitress saw us checking the pictures on yelp and recommended bone marrow, pork shoulder, and pig ears.

We started with the bone marrow- I'd say the portion is good for 6 people to share since it's so rich. Flavorwise the marrow was very tasty and went well with the bread. But I was super concerned about my heart health after eating it. LOL

Pig ear was very crunchy, and so was kale. Both were blended nicely with a sunny-side up egg. Although after a couple of bites, I found this dish too greasy.

I'd say pork shoulder is my favorite- nicely cooked meat, extremely soft and tender, flavorful, and very comforting.

I recommended this place to a couple of other folks and they all enjoyed the food here. As much as I liked the pork-oriented food here, I'd be interested in exploring less greasy options in my future visit.

6/26/2015

Breath easy, Pork Lovers.  Hog Heaven can be found in Chicago and it's glorious.

----The Food---
Pig Platter ($29)- It would be sacrilegious not to order a sampling of this traditional, but outstanding charcuterie board.  The pig platter comes with 10-12 cured meats that heighten my appreciation for pork. The supplements of cheese, berry jam, and grilled bread only help with that.

JLT ($13)-  What makes this dish is the pork jowl (pork cheeks) which is sufficiently fried, smothered with pesto and blanketed with a fried egg. It's crunchy, chewy, slightly charred and zestily finished with the aioli. SO GOOD. Also comes with diced tomato and arugula.

Milk Braised Pork Shoulder  ($13)-  Fork-tender, but the generously marbled hunk of hog affected the taste, overall.  Comforting to some, but I felt it was a bit overwhelming and something I didn't care to taste more than twice.  My party all agreed.

Chicken Thigh Kebabs ($14)-  Probably the juiciest and most flavorful chicken I've had in recent memory.  Not only does it look appealing in its plumpness, the color, presentation and even crispiness deserves applause.  The tzatziki sauce is aromatic in smell and flavor, amplifying the enjoyability of this dish.  You can choose to order fries, instead of potatoes and they give an ample amount when you do so.

Roasted Bone Marrow with Hern Salad & Sicilian Sea Salt ($13)- I'm a lover of roasted bone marrow, but didn't enjoy Purple Pig's for a couple of reasons. 1) It doesn't look appealing to eat.  The gelatinous material wasn't roasted/baked long enough so the marrow wasn't caramelized well, making it gray in color.  2) Wasn't bold and flavorful as I hoped.  In short, Bestia and Animal in LA do the best job of this dish.  

Pig's Ear  ($10)- An absolute standout of the evening. These fried salty pig ears are something I wish I could eat while watching football and drinking a sweet beer, all day!  Highly addictive, they're sliced thinly and placed on a bed of crispy kale, tangy cherry peppers, and covered with an egg. I was reluctant to share this one.  

Turkey Leg Confit ($17)- Impressive in size, this turkey leg was packed with striking taste. Served with crispy lentils, cabbage, and a sweet/sour agrodolce.
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Conclusion: The Purple Pig serves daring, delicious food that is meant to be shared.  One taste and you might revert to your selfish, animalistic self though.  With their creative, reasonably-priced menu, it's my favorite restaurant within the Magnificent Mile; A step better than the Girl & the Goat, in my opinion.  

Extra Notes:
-Accepts credit card
-No reservations can be made
-Impeccable service
-Loud, fun environment
-Beautiful modern decor, with wooden floors/tables.
-Poor lighting when dining for dinner, hence no pictures
-Clean restrooms

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  Entrance

  Entrance
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  "cheese, swine, and wine"

  "cheese, swine, and wine"

8/9/2015

Finally I made it! No waiting time at 3pm on Saturday but still a lot of people! Ordered the popular dishes that people in yelp recommend: bone marrow, pig' ear and stuffs squids. All were good but I wish the pig's ears were not deep fried..

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  Stuffed squids

  Stuffed squids
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  Bone marrow

  Bone marrow
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  Pigs ear, deep fried

  Pigs ear, deep fried
• See all photos from Grace L. for The Purple Pig

7/10/2015

The Purple Pig is a marvelous restaurant and I recommend it all the time.  The food dishes are unique, tasty, flavorful, and fun.  

The bone marrow with toast is a great way to start off your dinner. Its juicy, fatty, and delicious.  The wine list is very nice, with extremely affordable prices offering a diverse pairing with the food.

The beet salad...WOW!  That's in my, "Who'd a thunk?" category!  It's creamy, smooth, unique taste that isn't overpowering. It's blended with a goat cheese and pistachios.  Great blend of flavors that all work well in your mouth.  

The chorizo stuffed olives are very nice.  Chorizo is a difficult sausage with which to work because it is so strong.  It can often compete with whatever you're serving or cooking with it.  Here, they managed to pull it together very nicely.

I have a rule of thumb, whenever there is fois-gras on the menu, I order it, no questions asked.  Here they did a credible job. It was very good, and if you're a fois-gras lover, you'll definitely like it.  Not the best I've had, but credible.  

Their cheese and meat plates are exceptional.  No other restaurant does a better job at this seemingly simple task.  Meats and Cheeses are fresh, and they have a good mix.

I like busy restaurants with some noise.  This place is too much.  It is just too compact and too loud.  If you can't eat on the patio, don't go.  You'll just be annoyed, or you'll have to double your dose of Adderall!  

I recommend it.  But they better freshen up, it's becoming passé.

7/3/2015

The Purple Pig is a joint I stumbled into while wandering around downtown Chicago. It's very easy to miss and the sign by the sidewalk intrigued me enough to stop in and I'm glad I did.

As soon as I entered I was greeted by the friendly staff. I can imagine the place being quite busy since the inside is quite small and intimate, but I was fortunate enough to not have to wait, sat at the bar, got a glass of Rosé and ordered right away.

To start, I had the RoastedBoneMarrow spread. I'm already a big fan of bone marrow and I believe I found Mecca at ThePurplePig. The BoneMarrow is thick, dense, flooded with marrow and juices. When you dig into the marrow with your knife it holds up well and keeps its form until you spread it across your toast making it melt like butter. The bone also comes with a bed of cilantro salad with picked onions to top your bread with. It's pretty decadent.

Next, I decided to try the PigEar with fried Kale and egg. The pig ear comes in thin, crispy strips, also fried. The amount of fried items in one bowl was bit overwhelming but the pickled peppers definitely helped to displace the fried taste. I don't think I'd order this again, but it was definitely great to try.

Finally to wrap things up, I ordered the MeatballSliders to help offset the heaviness of the fried flavors with the heartiness of marinara. The meatballs were very structured yet soft to the cut with a fork. Perfectly cooked, tender not tough. The meatballs paired with the Parmesan, Marinara and Arugula was great combo to finish off my meal.

I would definitely come back to ThePurplePig. The ambiance was great, the staff was friendly and most importantly, the food was on-point with lots of other items I'd still like to try.

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  View from the bar

  View from the bar
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  Meatball Slider

  Meatball Slider
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  Pigs Ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and fried egg.

  Pigs Ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and fried egg.
• See all photos from Shaun M. for The Purple Pig

4/18/2015

What a wonderful place. This is the Piggy version of Girl and the Goat.

Everything I tried was excellent.

Burrata pugliese with grapes, candied olives, saffron celery root and pink peppercorn syrup - awesome. The pink peppercorn syrup makes this dish.

House made gyros and pita bread with pickled celery root and beets - very good

Milk fed suckling pork belly and leg with black eyed peas, cucumbers and pork marrow cream - delicious

Pigs ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and a fried egg - excellent. This is now my favorite way to eat pigs ears. Fried with a light coating of something, they were just delicious.

Homemade Morcilla (blood) sausage with poached lobster tail, dates and apples - delicious

Sicilian iris - ricotta and chocolate chip filled fried brioche - very good, a doughnut with cannelloni filling.

Hazelnut Verrine with espresso custard, creme fraiche and chocolate hazelnut syrup - very good

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  Pigs ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and a fried egg - excellent

  Pigs ear with crispy kale, pickled cherry peppers and a fried egg - excellent
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  Milk fed suckling pork belly and leg with black eyed peas, cucumbers and pork marrow cream - delicious

  Milk fed suckling pork belly and leg with black eyed peas, cucumbers and pork marrow cream - delicious
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  Burrata pugliese with grapes, candied olives, saffron celery root and pink peppercorn syrup - awesome

  Burrata pugliese with grapes, candied olives, saffron celery root and pink peppercorn syrup - awesome
• See all photos from David T. for The Purple Pig

8/8/2015

Great food. Really busy, long wait.

Sat at chefs table and what a spectacular show.

Some of the greatest little plates I have ever had.

Affordable prices.

3/27/2015

LOVED IT!! The reviews and hype or all true! We stumbled upon this place on a Tuesday night. No wait (as I have heard there are long waits to get in here) and great service. It was somewhat cold when we came but there is a seating arrangement outdoors under a covered tent (I am sure they take this down during the summer) looking towards the river and Michigan Ave. Everything on the menu is wine, swine and cheese. Not the place for the touchy stomach :)

We had a lamb curry type dish which was out of this world AMAZING!! The people sitting next to us also ordered it because it just looks soooo GOOD. We also ordered the grilled cheese which was still pretty good but that lamb....
The dishes are made to be shared and they provide a variety of pairings of sauces for some of the dishes.

Honestly, this experience was better than all the hype because the atmosphere was still casual, fun and mystifying. The food is a little different and they have amazing choices of wine, swine and cheese :)!

TRY IT (just maybe not on a Friday or Saturday night ) !

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  Lamb stephano yummmmmmmmm

  Lamb stephano yummmmmmmmm

4/13/2015

The only reason one could justify coming to Chicago in February, is eating here.

Some items on the menu may sound familiar, but I doubt you've met. They do things differently here. Whether it's the fried deviled egg or the confit turkey leg, it's all beautifully balanced with the right amount of acidity and seasoning, so nothing feels "heavy".

Some of my favorites here: crispy pig ear salad, octopus, turkey leg, brioche ricotta with chocolate and sweet potato / salted caramel ice cream.

You must make this place a priority!

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  Brioche and chocolate - must try.

  Brioche and chocolate - must try.
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  Beet and goat cheese - delicious.

  Beet and goat cheese - delicious.
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  Best octopus I've had.

  Best octopus I've had.
• See all photos from Tyler B. for The Purple Pig

4/20/2015

Yum. Just yum. Probably my favorite restaurant in Chicago because my roommate and I stumbled upon it on our very first day in the city when we were drunkenly exploring after brunch. Feeling like the complete gluttons that we are, we decided to check out Purple Pig and although it's been a year, I remember the decadent dishes as if it were yesterday. Now, this place doesn't need any more reviews, but I have to throw in my 2 cents because I wouldn't feel right if I left this spot out.

The bone marrow disappeared before I could get a pic of it. No matter, there are only about 1200 other photos of Purple Pig's marrow on yelp, and for good reason. It's thebomb.com. The pig's tails braised in balsamic with grated egg and parsley is a close second for my favorite dish. You can't go wrong with a cheese plate. Cocktails are a bit expensive and you can find better in the city, but definitely try one. Watching the folks work in the kitchen is pretty fun too. This place is gonna be crowded pretty much any time of day, and they don't take reservations, but the wait is worth it! Just do like my friend and I did, and eat before you go, ha.

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  a whisky cocktail... good, but you can skip this one

  a whisky cocktail... good, but you can skip this one
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  pig tail braised in balsamic

  pig tail braised in balsamic
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• See all photos from Morganne B. for The Purple Pig

6/26/2015

Milk braised pork shoulder - tender and tasty, a safe choice, milky flavor obviously, might be salty for some.

Crispy pork ear and kale - fried pork ear with fried kale accompanied with some peppers was better than expected, recommend. 4 stars

Sicilian money iris shot - ricotta and chocolate filled beignet that took 15 minutes to bake. It was so good I ordered 2. The bar applauded and my night was complete. 5 stars.

Interior is fun, swinery with a great view, bar area is nice and cozy

4/17/2015

I love this place. I arrived at 230p on a Friday afternoon. It was pretty packed.

Luckily i found a seat at the communal table. Yes there's a communal table where you sit next to other randoms. Super great service here.

I ordered the pig ears. This was delicious. It has an egg on top and the chef recommended that we break the egg and mix it over the pig ears. 9/10 on this. It tasted like onion strings! Yum! Loved the idea.

We also ordered the squid. Wow this was so delicious. 4 squid pieces (smaller than what I hoped for) but each squid was filled with delicious stuffing. 10/10

Come here and give your mouth a happy surprise. Yum yum.

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  Pig ears!!

  Pig ears!!
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  Squid. So flavorful

  Squid. So flavorful

8/5/2015

From the atmosphere, to the service, to the excellent food, to the presentation of said food, this place is great. I only give it 4 stars because it's out of 5, but I'd give it a 9/10. Excellent food, truly skilled with their knowledge of the pig. Their pork tenderloin is to die for as well as the bone marrow and accompanying tapas-like dishes. Service is constant and quick, but not pushy or hovering. Open space with communal tables (always fun), and the overall atmosphere is very pleasant. This place is a definite must for pork and tapas lovers. I'll be back.

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  A well devoured feast @ the Purple Pig.

  A well devoured feast @ the Purple Pig.

7/3/2015

Every tapas place is unique and I tend to find at least a few of my plates to be enjoyable. The Purple Pig lived up to the reviews, but I've had tapas that was just as good and unique in the 'burbs for less. Having said that, however, the location is half the fun + you get solid food delivered by knowledgeable waiters/waitresses!

Regardless of the the time of day, I feel like the Purple Pig is always bustling! A very bar-like venue, you'll often have a fair amount of noise and long tables are typically shared with other patrons. I visited with two friends and we ordered about six plates between us.

The chicken thigh kababs were our favorite and the prosciutto stuffed squid was...unique, but our meat & cheese platters were the best! Felt like a lot of money for such simple items, but this is where the high quality, unique components reside!

Many of my friends visit Chicago and stay near Michigan Avenue, so the Purple Pig is always an option. My desire for a calmer venue, however, usually steers me clear of this location for something like BoHo.

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  Prosciutto stuffed squid!

  Prosciutto stuffed squid!

3/16/2015

I've been trying to come to Purple Pig for literally years. In fact, I've tried to dine here on three separate occasions, but the wait was always much too long and inconvenient (1.5-3 hours waiting time--yikes). A friend decided to organize a group of five of us to come here for dinner the Sunday after Saint Patrick's Day parade weekend at 3 PM. There was basically no wait, which we weren't anticipating, so we didn't get there until ~3:45. We were seated immediately after our whole group was present.

Service: The service was pretty disappointing overall. We had a total of THREE servers during our whole meal, none of which were attentive. I was annoyed that we were duped into ordering fancy San pellegrino water when our waiter asked if we wanted "sparkling or tonic water"? I was disappointed to see that inflated price on our bill when it arrived. We were able to order our dishes sporadically, which was great, but we didn't see our servers for huge hunks of time.

Food: We weren't famished, so my boyfriend and I ended up splitting three dishes from the appetizer menu. We started with the beets with goat cheese and pistachios. This was my favorite dish! The pistachios added the perfect flavor and crunch to the dish. I was surprised by how big the serving was because the bowl doesn't look huge. Next, we had the Greek cornbread. I was least impressed by this, although it wasn't bad. It just wasn't anything special. $6 seems like too much money for it. Next up was the cauliflower, which was great, but still cannot be compared to the Girl & the Goat cauliflower dish. There weren't very many gherkin pickles, which disappointed my boyfriend a bit.

Atmosphere: It was very cramped. The dining space is quite small and I can tell they try to accommodate as many people as possible. They have communal tables, so it's not really an intimate environment. I wouldn't choose to celebrate a special occasion here. A our communal table, there were FOUR separate groups (five of us and three pairs). There weren't any hooks for purses or coats. I had to awkwardly drape my big purse over my chair and people kept bumping into it as they walked by.

Overall, I'm only giving three stars because the food tasted good. Most other parts of our dining experience here were more on the side of two stars.

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  Beets with goat geese and pistachios app

  Beets with goat geese and pistachios app
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  Greek corn bread app

  Greek corn bread app
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  Cauliflower app

  Cauliflower app

6/24/2015

Wasn't sure what to expect based on some of the reviews, but this place was trending among the staff at our hotel and also very close to where we were staying on our recent trip to Chicago.  They do not take reservations, but you can put your name in and they will text you once the table is ready.  On a recent Friday we put in our names around 6pm for our party of 8 and the table was ready around 830/9pm.  The seating situation is also very unique as it is communal, meaning you will be seated with people that are not in your party at their long tables.  

The menu is very eclectic and absent of traditional dishes you'd find at other mainstream restaurants.  We tried the signature pig ear dish and it was mixed reviews amongst our group. The best way to describe it is thin fried strips that resemble pork rinds over a bed of kale and over easy egg that you mix together before eating.  I'm glad I was able to experience the hoopla surrounding this place, but the menu offerings and overall ambiance are just not that appealing to me personally.

4/14/2015

I can see this being trendy and all but I kinda dont believe the hype. I thought the bone marrow was delicious. Bone marrow, salt and salad goes together very well and creates different taste and texture.  The pig ear salad and the pork shoulder didn't wow me. The pork shoulder is a bit saltly and cheesy.  No new interesting twist to the dish. You can barely taste the pig ear in the salad. Kinda wish that the pig ear wasnt fried. . Maybe my expectation is too high.  

Definitely get the bone marrow. Maybe try something else on the menu beside the pig ear and shoulder.

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  Bonenarrow

  Bonenarrow
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  Bonenarrow

  Bonenarrow

6/2/2015

One of the unexpected best restaurant that I got to try in Chitown. I came to Chicago around Memorial Day weekend and on the day of the holiday, not many restaurants were open. Me and my buddy was walking around looking for hot dogs and EVERYWHERE WAS CLOSED! Luckily Purple Pig was open and we got seated right away.

Their Motto is CHEESE, WINE, AND SWINE. Sounds like we are a match made in heaven. It's hard to F*CK up on pig but they take it to another level. Their cheese is just sooooo heavenly as well. For example, I was a little hesitant to order their beets with goat cheese because I hate the strong aftertaste of goatcheese but on their dish, there was NONE. It was creamy and a very nice pairing with the pickled beets.

We also ordered the Hot dog (Of course) and their squid stuffed with pork and a crepes dish. I dont wanna go into every little detail but dining here really gave me a flair for Chicago's style. Similarities to los angeles eats but they definetly have their own unique style!! If I ever come back to Chitown, this is the one place I will come back to!!

3/10/2015

Wine and dine with the Purple Pig!  Their tapas are marvelous and I don't think you can go wrong with any one of them!

I love the contemporary kitchen vibe dining that this place exudes and definitely dine outside if the weather permits!  It's wonderful with their outdoor patio.

Do start with their Pork Smear or other delectable spreads that you find fancy!  The toasted buttery Ricotta with the thick smear of tender pork and swell tomato sauce was homely delicious!

I love their Turkey Leg Confit! The crispy lentils, sauteed, smoothly textured treviso radicchio and nicely cooked turkey was meshed well together.  Add the finishing touch with the endive as a topping and the lightly sweet and vinegary sauce, then it is simply a polished entree.  

As for their Scallop Spiedini with chickpea aioli, it was grilled perfectly and every bite of it, delighted my taste buds.

There is a wait for this place, but the staff were accommodating and timely.  Waiters and waitresses were polite.  They kept refilling our glasses of water when it was barely half empty.

I love this place and definitely will be back to try their other signature tapas!

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  Pork Smear with Ricotta bread

  Pork Smear with Ricotta bread
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  Scallop Spiedini

  Scallop Spiedini
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  Turkey Leg Confit

  Turkey Leg Confit

7/26/2015

I had such a wonderful evening here!  I came alone so I was lucky enough to get a spot at the bar overlooking the cooks. I had so much fun watching them, what a system!  
Adam was such an amazingly attentive sever!  He recommended two wines that I LOVED and a fantastic steak.

A great experience that absolutely exceeded my expectations!  Thank you!

3/28/2015

My party of three arrived at about 7:00 PM on a Wednesday. It was packed, which is always a good sign. People are waiting for a reason, right? So, we were told it would be about 45 minutes. Cool. It was actually about 15 minutes and we were seated. The seating arrangement is a little different here than at most places. While they do have individual tables for one party, a lot of the seating is at community tables. I enjoyed it but it does get a little loud. The server was super friendly and explained everything well.

So far, Purple Pig is checking off all my boxes. Great location, lively crowd, cool decor, friendly staff (every staff member that walked past us as we waited would at least offer a greeting or a smile, which was excellent), and they even sell Peroni. We're on a roll.

Then the food came and everything was brought up a level. The pork fried almonds, calamari, and burrata got us started. Fresh, vibrant, beautiful, and delicious. Hands down, the best calamari I have ever had. The JLT (like a BLT but with pork jowl, frisee and a duck egg) was one of our two "main" courses. Outrageous flavor on this bad boy. I really appreciate how they maintained a crispy crostini and ripe tomato while still offering moist protein, and the pork was cooked to perfection. Next, milk braised pork shoulder and mash. I believe this was the most tender piece of pork I've ever eaten. It was perfection. And for dessert, the Iris and panino. Sweet, decadent, fried goodness.

Not only will we be coming back, we will be back soon. Thank you, Purple Pig, for a wonderful meal and experience. You've all earned all the love coming your way on this site.

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  Hi there, milk braised pork. Lemme holler at you for a minute baby girl.

  Hi there, milk braised pork. Lemme holler at you for a minute baby girl.

6/2/2015

So this place apparently does not take reservations and they don't need to because it's always busy. Get here early and bring your whole party because they don't seat you until everyone is there and this place is too small and crowded for you to wait for your friends comfortably. You will feel like you're in the way, standing around, and that's because you are.

Wine selection is excellent as is the variety of small plates. We loved everything we tried, including the beets, fried cheese, and pork shoulder. But the star of the show was the dessert, which we regretted sharing. It was a chocolate hazelnut coffee custard concoction in a way too small glass. Get two.

Service was friendly and helpful when making our menu selections, and the venue is cozy - maybe too cozy. I felt very much squeezed into the table we got and could have easily eaten off the table next to mine.